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Warcraft - The Ancient Pantheon
The ancient gods and some of their myths, have been recently rediscovered by the group. Everything discovered is as follows. (The pantheon and the myths were based on many gods from many religions from many places. Many things were adapted to fit the setting and some things were invented. So here there is stuff which reminds of Greek mythology, or perhaps Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Nordic etc. There's even a few stuff based on / taken from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting from Wizards of the Coast. Of course, there is also a great deal of information according to the book "Warcraft: the Roleplaying Game"). 'The History' 'The Creation' No one knows how exactly the world came to be, but in the beginning it was ruled by the so called Old Gods. They were beings made of raw elemental power and governed the world with strength and fury, chaos and savagery. The only inhabitants of the world were wild elemental creatures, the only ones who could survive amidst the chaos. 'The War against the Elementals' It is said that at some point the New Gods, or Titans, came to set the world in order. Some say the Titans were creations of the elemental gods, some say the first titan was spawned directly from the chaos and gave rise to the others. Despite how they came to be, fact is that they decided to fight the Old Gods. The war between the old gods of chaos and the new gods of order then began. It was a hard fight but in the end the Titans were victorious. They imprisoned the elemental gods somewhere – some people say it was on the Twisting Nether, some say it was deep beneath the earth in Azeroth – where they remain to this day. 'A Prosperous World' After the Old Gods were defeated, the Titans began to set the world to their liking. They recreated the world similar to what it is today, created the sun and the moon, the plants and the animals, and a myriad of sentient creatures. Each Titan decided to rule over one or more aspects of the world and the world was prosperous under their guidance. The civilizations bloomed: tauren, dwarf, night elves, dragons… There were centuries of peace. 'The Betrayal of Set and the War of the Gods' Set tried to absorb the essence of an Old God: Apep, the elemental god of darkness. However, his plan was foiled by a trio of mortals: the prophet Abaris and his two friends. Abaris not only defeated Set and prevented Apep’s essence being unleashed in Azeroth, but also laid a curse on Set. Abaris died and Set went mad because he absorbed a tiny fraction of Apep’s power. Decades later, Set finally left all reason behind – he killed his brother Helion and started a war among the gods. He became known as Sageras, the “Kinslayer”. Many gods and demigods fell to Sargeras but, contrary to his expectations, for each one he killed he grew weaker instead of stronger – this was an effect of Abaris’ curse. Kingu, Set’s son, pretended to remain loyal to his father while working with the other gods - at the right moment he moved to kill his father, aided by Elune. Set became almost powerless and together with his new minions, the demons (created with the power of Apep), he made a plan to regain his former powers. Corrupting the queen Azshara, he caused the War of the Ancients. At this time, the gods were already distancing themselves from Azeroth, but it is said that Ursin, Ursol and Cenarius fought the war alongside the mortals. At the end, Set failed once again, but the costs were high to the world. 'The Fading' After the War, the already distant gods left Azeroth. Before departing, they imparted immortality and great power and wisdom upon five mighty dragons: Alextrasza, Malygos, Ysera, Nozdormu and Neltharion. The gods then disappeared from this world and, with time, even the memory of them faded. Some of them are believed to remain connected with Azeroth and its races: Elune, patron of the night elves; the Great Mother (Hathor), goddess of earth and patron of the tauren; Ursin & Ursol, the demigod siblings; Aviana, the Lady Raven; and Cenarius, the druidic demigod. It’s not possible to say if these gods truly remain in Azeroth or, if in someplace else, at least remain connected with the world. The only one who knowingly remained was Cenarius, who fought and was slain during the Third War. 'The Pantheon' The gods of the ancient pantheon are also called the New Gods or the Titans. 'Arctos' Arctos is the god of water (rivers, lakes, seas and even rain and snow), god of healing and also the creator of all bearfolk. He is depicted as a furbolg, his symbol is a bunch of kingsfoil leaves and his sacred animal is the bear. 'Aviana' The Lady Raven is the goddess of the secrets and mysteries of the wild earth, the patron of magic. She also rules over the winds and is the messenger of the gods (this is actually another aspect of herself, called Eostre). She is often depicted as a night elf with raven wings (or white bird wings as Eostre) and her sacred animal is the raven. 'Cenarius' The Lord of the Groves is the demigod who taught the druidic arts to the night elves and also to respect and revere the forces of nature and all living beings. He has the torso and head of a mighty night elf and the body of a great gray stag. Cenarius is the only divine being known to have really existed in the Material Plane. Rumors say that he sired the centaur race. It is also said that he fought beside the night elves at the War of the Ancients and worked with the elven hero Malfurion Stormrage to re-establish the life of the people after the war. He watched and helped the elves throughout the millennia but was slain at the Third War by the orc-turned-demon Grom Hellscream. 'Dumathoin' Dumathoin (also called the Judge or the Guardian) is the guardian of the departed souls, the lord of the world of the dead, and also the god of secrets. He is often depicted as a human or dwarf, sitting on a throne and holding his symbols (a mace and a flail); his holy animal is the jackal. He decides (alongside with Maat) the destiny of all mortal souls. 'Elune' Elune is the goddess of the Moon and patron deity of the night elves. She is the twin sister of Helion, and is depicted as a night elf. Her sacred animal is the nightsaber panther. Up to this day the night elves still worship Elune, although the bond between the goddess and her people seems rather weak nowadays. It is believed that Elune blessed the night elves with the ability to meld in the shadows, the protection against magic and immortality. Her "dogma" speaks of respecting and living in consonance with nature, being patient and considerate, having compassion and helping those in need. 'Hathor' The Earth Mother is revered by the tauren as their patron goddess. She is the goddess of the Earth and presides over fertility, agriculture, the harvests and also over festivals and joy. She is hardly ever depicted nowadays, but at the old days she was shown as a tauren, often holding her symbol, the cornucopia. She had three sons with Dumathoin: the twins Helion and Elune, and Set. 'Helion' Helion is the God of the Sun, the head of the ancient Azerothian pantheon. He is also god of justice, of royalty and the right to rule. In the many depictions found so far, Helion is a golden-skinned night elf, wearing armor and carrying a longbow. He sometimes appears with a falcon, his sacred animal. Both the bow and arrow and the falcon are his symbols. 'Ishtar' Ishtar is the goddess of love and of all forest creatures (animal and sylvan). She is often depicted as a sylvan nymph and her symbol and sacred animal is the peacock. 'Kingu' Kingu is the god of inventions and god of fire. He is also the creator of the human race and is called the Firebringer or Firegiver by them, for he thought them how to create and use fire. He is often depicted in human shape and his symbol is a flame. He is the son of Set and when his father started his war against the other gods, he remained by Set’s side. However, he knew his father was mad and was actually working alongside the rest of the pantheon, simply waiting for the moment to strike. 'Lolth' Lolth is the goddess of arcane magic and creator of the nerubian race. She is often depicted as a giant spider with the torso of a beautiful dark-skinned night elf. Her symbol and sacred animal is the spider. She was the daughter of Set; after Kingu’s betrayal, Set slayed Lolth for precaution (which severed the nerubians’ link to divine magic). 'Maat' Maat is the goddess of Order, of truth and of equilibrium. She is Helion's wife and therefore the queen of the gods. She is depicted as a human with golden feathery wings. Her sacred animal is the owl. Her symbols are a golden feather and a pair of scales. She is responsible for judging the souls of the deceased mortals together with Dumathoin and for sending them to their final destinations. 'Sekhmet' Sekmeth is the goddess of war, battle, ferocity, courage and nobility. She is often depicted as a humanoid with a the head of a lioness (her symbol and sacred animal is a lioness). 'Set / Sargeras' Set was the merciless god of the desert. He is depicted in human shape and his symbols are the scorpion and serpent. He is the traitor god, the fallen one. He tried to obtain the power of the vanquished darkness elemental god Apep to overcome his brother Helion and to become the new leader of the gods. He became mad with the power of Apep and began a war against the other gods. After slaying Helion, Set became know as Sageras , the "Kinslayer". He became powerless, a “mortal” demon lord but still tried to reclaim his old powers and was responsible for the War of the Ancients and the First and Second Wars. 'Silvanus' Silvanus is the god of nature, son of Hathor and father of Cenarius. He is almost never depicted, but when so he appears as a night elf. His symbol is a sycamore leaf. 'Thot' Thot is the god of knowledge. He is often depicted as a tauren and his symbol is an open book. His sacred animals are the ibis and the baboon, depending on which aspect of him it is referring to: mundane knowledge (baboon) and knowledge dealing with magic and other worlds (ibis). 'Thor' Thor is the god of thunder, lighting and storms, and one of the main deities revered by the urskan. He is also the patron god of warriors. His symbol is his mighty hammer. 'Ursin & Ursol' Ursin & Ursol are twin demigods who help Elune and Helion, respectively, in their tasks as the Moon and Sun, presiding over the tides and seasons. Their are depicted as furbolgs, Ursin is female while Ursol is male. Their symbols are a ship (Ursin) and a chariot (Ursol). It is said that the bear brothers fought alongside the night elves against the Burning Legion in the War of the Ancients. 'Vulcano' Vulcano, the Forger, is the god of crafts (especially with metal and stone). He is the creator of the dwarves, who called him the Soulforger. He is depicted as a mighty dwarf and his symbol is an anvil and hammer. Sometimes he is depicted as a human, when he is related to the construction of fortresses and strongholds. 'The Old Gods' The elemental gods from the beginning of times. 'Apep' The elemental god of darkness is often depicted as a snake (a cobra, more precisely). All of the old gods are just forces of creation and thus are neutral; none is intrinsically evil, including Apep. Darkness is the power which reigns over death, which of course is a natural part of the world. However, since the darkness is also the origin of death magic (necromancy), it was the power needed by Set to accomplish his evil schemes. 'Mehen' The elemental god of light is often depicted as a snake. As stated above for Apep, all the old gods are neutral and so is Mehen (despite the “light” often being treated as a force of good). Light is the origin of the spark of life and thus also of life magic, making it the perfect force to oppose the Apep-empowered Set/Sargeras Category:Settings Category:Organization